Myrmidons (as ants)

Happy Saturday Morning – Yes siree, this morning some of our nearby areas are supposedly experiencing this Fall’s first frost. We’re fine. Having said that, it might be just me but this morning’s hot coffee tastes exceptionally good.

I know, all of my three readers grab the armrests and hang on to your chairs. You’re just waiting for my ‘after-election’s rant.

Wrong! No rant!

A quote from that news sage of yesteryear, Walter Cronkite, and then a cartoon. After which I will be done:

Walter Cronkite: “Objective journalism and an opinion column are about as similar as the Bible and Playboy magazine.”

Hidden behind a Haircut – yesterday was the perfect day – great weather and time to do great things. Vai had no school and work had called suggesting that if she wanted to, she could have the day off.

Vai had a notion and I came up with a plan. Vai had a pair of ‘paint by background’ kits along with paints and brushes. She wanted to come over and paint with Oma. I suggested waiting a bit, allow Marcia to dress properly, and then Vai’d come on over for lunch and painting.

The idea was agreed to especially with the suggestion that it’d serve Tomato and Basil soup for lunch. Then, while the ladies were painting, I could run out for a haircut (something I had been trying to get to for way too long).

From what I saw and hear everyone had a wonderful time. Sorry, no photo of the painters. I took this shortly before heading for bed last evening.

Trenton – Heading north a ways on I-75 it’s not too difficult to come across the small community of Trenton, about 40 minutes north. It’s a small, quiet, almost sleepy community. Sleepy that was until word came out that Amazon Web Services (AWS) was planning a massive hyperscale data center adjacent to the town.
Here is the scale:
On 600 acres of open farmland, place 18 buildings at around 220-thousand square feet per building – almost 4-million square feet total. A planned $5 Billion investment to eventually require 1.7 gigawatts of power.

The town citizens (mostly) were livid!
Livid, more so since the town council tried to slide the plan through ‘on the QT‘.

For several years I’ve participated and listened to a wide variety of great subjects organized by a wonderful local nonprofit group which brings insight and discussion on a wide variety of topics of interest – EmpowerU America.

Now, especially in light of all the hoopla over Ai and Data Centers, I just had to jump aboard to discover just how a massive corporate entry into a small community affects, is received, and is managed.

But that’s passed, here is a class which really could be of interest to you.

EmpowerU America – Local in Cincinnati, offering public lectures, classes, and discussions all under the banner of “educate, enjoy, engage” on a myriad of subjects.

I have absolutely enjoyed a wide variety of subjects, people, and viewpoints. Aside from covering history, politics, media, health, economics, and local affairs, I’ve even seen the ‘Blues Brother’ perform.

November 19th (7:00 – 8:30pm) there will be a fascinating class – and yes, you can attend virtually with the title of: Remembering 9/11: A First-Hand Account from the Pentagon

This will be a firsthand account of what went on in the Pentagon on 9-11 and then on 9-12.
The presenter will be US Navy Captain Stephan Johnson. He’ll share pictures and details from the attack, the immediate aftermath, the damage, and the process of rebuilding.

We’re told that Captain Johnson was a career nuclear submariner. He was in command of the NATO flagship during the Kosovo war, and the Commander of the northern Persian Gulf naval forces in the early days of the Iraq war among his many duties.

This should be a huge evening. If you’re not in the ‘Nati. copy the link below and then on the ‘Virtual’ button towards the bottom of the landing page. A little information and a free Zoom passcode will be sent to you.

Link [ https://tinyurl.com/5x6xfe7k ]

This week’s Interlude – You might guess and you’d be correct if you thought that this week’s Interlude ties in (somewhat) with this week’s elections. It was first released in 1973 and Bob Dylan, Bette Midler, and Doug Sahm (born yesterday on Nov. 6, 1941 – Nov. 18, 1999) contributed lines to the song.
Now that you are on the correct track with that hint, the attached minute clip should groom you quickly into the right answer.

Good luck, I know you’ll get it right! The answer along with a YouTube link is below, and remember, no cheating on the answer.

Tomorrow it’ll be different type of morning: the Cincinnati Bengals will be playing the Atlanta Falcons tomorrow in Madrid Spain – at 9:30 (our time) IN THE MORNING!!

signage on Madrid subway wagon

Enjoy!

Life is AMAZING!

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

5 May 1945, Lieutenant-General Charles Foulkes, commander of I Canadian Corps met with his German counterpart to sign the end of the German occupation of the Netherlands.
The town in the Netherlands where the signing took place was Wageningen at a local, non-descript, small hotel called: Hotel de Wereld (‘Hotel the World’).

More than a little history lesson. If you tried to look up this historic place while visiting the area now 81 years later, what would you find?

1. A WWII regional memorabilia museum
2. A DAF (van Doorne Auto Fabriek) and Spyker dealership
3. An Albert Heijn grocery
4. The Wageningen Police Head Quarters
5. A small city center green-space park
6. A car parking lot
7. Still stands, with a restored room where the signing happened.

Last week’s Bonus Points answer – #6
Answer, this week’s Interlude: Dr. John “Right Place, Wrong Time” https://youtu.be/GgnClrx8N2k